Hey, I can't help it. I mean really, if you're going to concern-troll, wouldn't you start with the fact that he has no brakes?

As for the video and the stupid jacket therein, it appears to be a year old now, and for all I know I've already bloviated about it. Regardless, let's look at it again:

First of all, those are some long-ass bars:

To his credit, I suppose they give him a lot of leverage which he can transfer into stopping power, and from what I understand the general brakeless fixie rule of thumb is that every additional foot of handlebar width translates into 1/8th of a coaster brake of stopping power.

That means to give your fixie the stopping power of a bike with front and rear discs you need a handlebar roughly 60 feet wide.

As for the jacket, having futzed around with that stupid battery-sucking "smart helmet" I can pretty confidently say this jacket is stupid. I mean sure, ride around town dusting off your sleeves if you want to:

Unless of course that call is from the Boss and he has some important fashion advice for you:

Seriously, unless you're in a Springsteen cover band you should not be wearing that much denim all at once. It's like Dorkness on the Edge of Town with this guy:

For Lob's sake, if you insist on listening to stuff while you ride just skip the smart jackets and smart helmets and wear some fucking headphones. Sure, if you're THAT GUY you probably think wearing headphones while riding is reckless and irresponsible, but as long as you keep whatever you're listening to at a sensible volume it's really not an issue. (I almost never ride with headphones myself, but have no issues with those who do.) And yes, it's technically illegal in New York City to ride while using two headphones (you're allowed one), but now that wireless earbuds are taking over you can hide them under your hat or payos:

(Nobody need know but Hashem.)

Yes, I'm a radical who believes it's okay to ride helmetless and while listening to music or podcasts at a reasonable volume as long as you remain aware of your surroundings and use a bicycle with functioning brakes. This is heresy in Anglophonic countries and I expect to be banished to the Netherlands forthwith. Meanwhile, Americans seem to be perfectly fine with blasting their shitty music on handlebar-mounted loudspeakers, which I assume is because we think this sort of antisocial behavior is normal due to loud car stereos. Indeed, it's only a matter of time before they're also bouncing along to the music on Rinsten Springs:

The couple arrived last month, paying $321,000. Annual taxes are around $11,000. They bought a used car. Ms. O’Shaughnessy drives it to the station while Mr. Lopez, an early riser, takes a fold-up bike.

68 comments:

223. Some readers may say, “This stuff about leftism is a lot of crap. I know John and Jane who are leftish types and they don’t have all these totalitarian tendencies.” It’s quite true that many leftists, possibly even a numerical majority, are decent people who sincerely believe in tolerating others’ values (up to a point) and wouldn’t want to use high-handed methods to reach their social goals. Our remarks about leftism are not meant to apply to every individual leftist but to describe the general character of leftism as a movement. And the general character of a movement is not necessarily determined by the numerical proportions of the various kinds of people involved in the movement.

Anonymous @ 1:48 I though California had Proposition 13, everyone pays the same percentage of their house's original purchase price. So the guy who bought his house a long time ago and stayed in it pays a lot less than someone who just bought a house or bought before the bubble burst. Is that still in effect?

That saddle is awesome. Whereas the frame on that Brooks saddle will last pretty much forever, this saddle is designed to fatigue and fail within the timeline of the rest of the parts on your fred sled. Giving you that added thrill of an extra component to guess from when you're playing "what will fail first?"

I have a bluetooth speaker, it's no more or less anti-social than headphones IMO. Quite a bit less as I've participated in a few impromptu crosswalk dance parties, and one time when I did a Jay-Z verse with a garbage man. It's the behavior of the user that is anti-social or not. I do think respectful song choice is important. Hip hop uptown, jazz/classical/classic rock on the UES, anything goes in midtown (but I try to stick with expletive-filled rap and punk invective with I pass Trump Tower), indie in Brooklyn and Queens. This is not a thing I'd ever do in the suburbs, woods or a quiet cross-street but as I listen to sirens and horns (I really hear them right now; this is not a rhetorical flourish they've been going for about 10-15 minutes), I can't help but think that claiming to want peace and quiet in NYC proper is along the lines of wishing Times Square wasn't so crowded.

To Snob and everyone else in NY and it's environs: WOW your property taxes are surprisingly affordable. I wish MY property tax was that low. You should count your blessing that you pay that little and STAY THERE.

This goes double for anyone in California. How do you manage with such a low cost of living? You don't need to move so just stay where you are. Please.

I think the Rinsten is unnecessary and superfluous, so of course it's a Lickstarter. But- if it's quality spring steel the fatigue life will be very, very long. If it broke and the Fred did not get stabbed or maimed by the ensuing crash, all he would need do is remove the Rinsten and put the saddle on the regular seatpost. So it's not the Stupidest Idea Ever. Just average stupid for these things I guess. Mozart seems to approve.

@WCRM - with that kind of cash...maybe? I mean, it would indeed be a long ride on the Brommie. Amtrak does run up there...I think it leaves at 4am and it's a 15 hour trip. There are some fairly cheap flights, with all of the money saved from housing that costs a little over 1/3 and paying 10k less in taxes every year, one of them could fly from here to LGA and back everyday, esp if there was a possibility to telecommute on Fridays where the ticket prices jump.

It's just interesting to see the cost differences of living in/near NYC vs "metropolitan" South Carolina. Or really, just how poor as fuck South Carolina is.

REAL men ride bikes with no brakes, and with a freewheel. If they really need to slow down they can drag their feet on the ground. Luckily these real men tend to reproduce at a low rate, and their Rinsten springs eventually break and perform a neat auto-emasculation.

Again, see this video on bike harassment. It would be much more useful to a large portion of the biking community for you to use your platform to highlight this issue, instead of posting videos like the "Fred Baywatch" Rinsten Spring, Bike Snob. Wtf. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tTA-yjGzf-o

Hill Slayer....it's Saturday & I don't think anyone would object to you just posting the link. It would even work when the bcny post is about harassment, or that's the conversation in the comment section.

I don't know about that particular Levi's commuter jacket, but I own one made out of the same waxed cotton they use to make cowboy duster coats, and it is a favorite that gets worn all the time off of the bike.

Snob, how long have you been doing weather reports? I hope you are getting your hooks into the organization and steering them right. I've always thought they're a great group with the right goals, but in need of some slight adjustment towards real life.

"When Payscale.com surveyed the annual incomes of 1.4 million midcareer graduates with bachelor’s degrees, Maritime College ranked first, with an average income of $144,000, surpassing M.I.T., Harvey Mudd College and Princeton University."

What the hell is it with those uber long handle bars?!! I'm still trying to wrap my mind around the point of those teeny, tiny, stubby little things that can hardly accommodate your hands and a brake lever! ( I call them Donald bars) I guess this new 'totally wide' scene must be some sort of ironic backlash against the hipsters of yore.

That ride started off logically enough: Caltrain station at 4th/King, Soma, Mission, China Basin, then he is magically teleported back to civic center and Market. Not as bad as the Bullit chase scene though.

About Me

While I love cycling and embrace it in all its forms, I'm also extremely critical. So I present to you my venting for your amusement and betterment. No offense meant to the critiqued. Always keep riding!